AP, America's defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, has met his Chinese counterpart, General Cao Gangchuan, for talks on North Korea and US-Chinese military relations.
The Pentagon says the session between Mr Rumsfeld and General Cao was productive and constructive.
Both sides have agreed to arrange further visits of the military leaders next year.
News agencies say it is the first time the Pentagon has hosted a visit by a Chinese defence minister since 1996.
US-Chinese military relations have been turbulent since the accidental American bombing of the Chinese embassy in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, in 1999 and the collision of a US navy surveillance plane with a Chinese fighter in 2001.
Meanwhile, the chairman of China's National People's Congress, Wu Bangguo, is due to leave shortly on a high-level mission to North Korea to discuss tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear program.
